23/10/2026
Right now, about 30 trillion cells in your body are following the rules. π§¬
They know when to grow, when to divide, and when to die. Every one of those rules is written in your DNA.
Every time a cell divides, it copies all of that DNA. Once in a while, it makes a mistake.
Most of those mistakes are harmless. Your body repairs many of them. Some kill the cell.
But sometimes a mistake lands on a gene that controls growth:
β the gas pedal gets jammed down (oncogenes)
β the brakes get cut (tumor suppressor genes)
And thatβs only the beginning. To become cancer, the cell has to learn to cheat:
β’ ignore the order to self-destruct
β’ hide from your immune system
β’ trick your body into building it a blood supply
β’ break through the tissue around it
β’ travel through the blood and start new tumors (metastasis)
It usually takes several mutations building up over many years. Thatβs one reason cancer gets more common as we age. In the US, new cases per 100,000 people rise steeply after 50 and peak in the early 80s (CDC, 2023).
The part most people donβt know: a tumor isnβt an army of identical cells. Itβs evolution happening inside your body. Thatβs why a treatment can wipe out almost all of it and still let a few resistant cells grow back. Itβs also why doctors combine surgery, radiation, chemo, targeted drugs and immunotherapy.
Cancer isnβt an invader from outside. Itβs one of your own cells that stopped following the rules.
